Hinge construction for receptacles and the like



Aug. 29, 1950 M. H. MORRISON 2,520,508

HINGE CONSTUCTION FOR RECEPTACLES AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 5, 1948 M/C'HHEL MOQE/SON,

IN V EN TOR.

Q7 7' GENE 9 Patented Aug. 29, 1950 "'HINGE'CONS TRUGTION'FORREGEPTACLES "LAND THE BIKE :cMichael HfiMorrison-Q Los Angelesyfialiferassignor wto William :fiaines; incorporated; Ls,=A; ngeles;

Caliil, a corporation of California Applicatioli seizteinber 3, 1948, Serial No. 47,665

. moiaims. (01. Jew-H31) f i v .v in z 61.12 ".Thisinventionrelates torzhingerconstructions, tainerwhich'may be used-as atcigarettebox. JAI- and particulairlyctoxathinge: orr'jointtbetween two "though -the trougli Sis-showncylihdriali nlay elements such .as a boic'and'its noverywseat and berectang ul'ar or any other? dsired'shape Furits backrest; "or. ashowcase. and nits. lid. thermore; to :addto its attractiveness; afluminous Hinges are' well:knewny moldedzhingesibeing= 'strirf 9"=and a *luminous strip 'm of -fluorescent :disc-los'ediinf'Ui: sfPatents Nox 2,347,981- of: May "material, may be attaeheezwthe bottomed'ges' bf :.2,f1944:and No; 2,442,873 of JuneB; I948, thepresthe end :=lplates' 5t and l 'ivhich wnr illuminate Tent invention'; however; beingidirectddao a' hinge these plates"in the dark. a which may orr'may not be moldedyjrhe principal Adjacent the upper' iour =corners-bf the "plates creature ofrthe hinge to be described hereinafter'is 6 I -are notchesor sockets l 2; I 35, I 4g-and 5. its ability topermit: the cover of. a=box,-receptacle, These notches have-parallel sides which make an 5 orrshowcasewto bew'opened sfromvmorath'anzione angle to the upper ed'ges of the plates of-approxiusi'de. -..'Ihatr:is,i:thei type: on;hinge' iconstruction "=m'ate1y 78 fsee Figi 3) orIL-I2 fromthe' -vei'tical, 1:. may beiused :on 1twotor'tmore edges 'of the-cover, the lower-ehds bt the sideslbeing closer 'to the aandthus; the :cover:can bemaised irom any edge, center otthebox than the upper'efadsof the sides. tzthe oppositeedgezbecoming a hinge'automatica'lly. The bottoms of'the sockets'are' circ-ular, as shown The: backrest 'ofs. a" bench or" chain 'can ithus be --"in"Figs-Z 2 and SK TThe bmi iS *prdvided -with a'ifl'at I shifted 'without-tmo'ving zthe seat itself. cover plate 16 having end pieces I! "and I8 Tl.'The:principal; obiect' ofithe invention, thereadaptedto-cover the notches when 'the cover is in Tiore; is to 'faci'litateYthenopening: :of a boxrorifche "closedposition. FAlthodghanarigle of 78 is prefsiraising of a coverof any rcontainen:orreceptacle. *efaiblfor the 'soclets ofa ci'garette' box of plastic :Another obj ect of r the invention is .to provide fan material, this angle may vary-with the" nature'bf im-proved hinge or joint between a container :and "receptacleor article using' the hinge and-the its cover. nratrialof the article.

*A fnrther object of l the: invention is to .prdvide the s'ide edges 'of thecover plate 1 6 are" paran: improved box and :cover. tial -c'ylindridal "knuckles 1 9 "and 2 0* which" may ,1Astillnfiirtherobject of-the invention isto pro- =-'-eit-her hie-formed or molded witlithe cover [6 or iyide an improved: methodnh joining a'-cover=to' a "attachedorbonded theretoin anysdit'able" mancontainer-:to -permitithe-Lcover tosbe raisedifrom ner. '"The diameter of these"knuckles is slightly more than one edge. n il le'ss than'the distance between the"parallelsides f.Althoughthei-novelifeatures which are believed of the sockets 'and fiu'slrwitli' the uppersurface to be characteristic of this invention will be ""bftheplate iE (seFigf'Z) so't-hatthk-nuckles pointed outwith-particularityin the appended "miaypass-intdthe"notchesor=socliets to'the"cir- ..;claims;-.the=manner of .its'iorganizationz and 'the 'c'ular b ottomst'herebf-and thetop surfaceof the mode of its operation will be better. nnderstoodrby fii 'c'over'lieflatagainst theontersidesofthenotches. referring...t the .following description, read in That is, when the cover I5 is in the dottedline conjunction with the accompanying drawings, fpositiondriliifig. 2;thkmick1e I F'willbe at" the forming a part hereof,in-which: ""bottomtbfnotches' l2"a-nd |3"andthe,upper'sur- 3 Fig; l is a--perspective view*of' a containersuch faceof "the cover-"windie-againstthe'right-hand as a"cigarettebox -embodyingthe invention. misides' 'bfithe notches. fThet coverflwill' 'thus" be Fig; 2=is an-end View bfthe' -box of Fig: l taken lheldintbddtted linepdsition 'showriin'liligi 2. along the 1ine'2'2: of Fig; 1. Now whenitis desired to"open"the"cover flfi Fig. 3 is a detail View of the hinge illustrating from right to left, the knuckle 19 is. graspedtand its "operation. raised andkniickl'zfl thenmovesinto notches l4 Fig: 4 is a perspectivewiewof a container havand [5 as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, the lid IS may ing a cover which can open on all four edges be raised from either side edge, since the knuckles thereof, and I9 and 20 may be lifted from their respective Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a bench seat notches and the lid will remain open as shown embodying the invention. in Figs. 1 and 2. The broken lines 22 show the Referring now to the drawings, in which the action of the joint or hinge as a knuckle moves same numerals identify like elements, and rein and out of a notch. The end plates I! and I 8 ferring particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a trough maintain the cover IS in its proper longitudinal or body 5 of cylindrical shape has end plates 6 and position on the trough 5. I abutting the end edges of the trough and which Referring now to Fig. 4, the container shown close the trough and provide legs for the conhas four sides 25, 26, 21, and 28, the ends or which extend beyond the intersections of the sides. This container has a bottom 29. In all side extensions, notches or sockets similar to those shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 are placed, the bottoms of the notches being closer to the center vertical axis of the container than the tops of the notches. A cover plate shown in full lines at 3| and dotted lines at 32 has four knuckles 35, 36, 37, and 38 which function in respective notches. That is, knuckle 36 functions in notches 40 and 4! when knuckle 3? is raised, knuckle 35 in notches 42 and 43 when knuckle 38 is raised, and so on for all four knuckles. Thus, there is provided a container and cover therefor, which cover may be raised from any edge and be automatically hinged at the opposite edge.

In Fig. 5, the invention is shown embodied in a bench having a seat portion 50, U-shaped leg ends 5! and 52, and a back rest 53. Sockets 55, 56, 5?, and 58, similar to the sockets just described for the containers, are cut in the horizontal portions of the leg ends 51 and 52 and the back 53 has knuckles E i and 6! similar to knuckles l8 and 26. When the back 53 is as shown in Fig. 5, knuckle 6! is in notches 55 and 58, and, if the back rest is to be used on the right side of the bench, knuckle (ill will'be inserted in notches 56 and 5'! by raising knuckle 6|. Thus, the back may be shifted to either side of the bench and if no back rest is desired, it may be lowered flat onto the bench and may be used as a seat.

Although the hinge or joint has been illustrated in use for containers and benches, it may be used for the covers, lids, or doors of many articles, and, although the cover is readily removable, it i nevertheless hinged to its container.

l. A container having a body portion and a cover portion, said body portion having parallel sided sockets at the corners thereof, a pair of said sockets having coaxial axes and said cover portion having knuckles on at least two edges thereof and flush with the upper surface of said cover, the axes of said knuckles being parallel to the axes of respective pairs of said notches, a knuckle passing into its respective pair of sockets when the opposite knuckle is raised to bring portions of the upper surface of said cover in contact with one side of each of said sockets to hold said cover in open position.

2. A container in accordance with claim 1, in which the sides of said sockets are slanted downwardly toward the center axis of said container at an angle of approximately 78 to the horizontal.

3; A container in accordance with claim 1, in which the bottoms of said sockets are circular and of the same diameter as the distance between the sides of said sockets, and said knuckles are partially cylindrical with a diameter slightly less than the distance between the sides of said notches 4. A joint or hinge between a movable member having at leastone flat side and a fixed member, a portion of said fixed member having a pair of parallel sides coaxial notches therein at an angle of substantially 12 to the vertical and a knuckle at the edge of said movable member, said knuckle being partially cylindrical and flush with the upper fiat side of said movable member and of a diameter slightly less than the distance between the sides of said notches, said notches having a depth greater than the diameter of said knuckles, portions of the upper, flat side of said cover contacting one of the parallel sides of each of said notches when in one position, and said knuckle spanning the upper edges of said notches When in another position.

5. A joint in accordance with claim 4, in which two pairs of said notches are provided, said notches having circular bottoms of a diameter equal to the distance between the sides of said notches to accommodate a pair of said knuckles when in said first mentioned position.

6. A hinged article having a cover removable therefrom in either closed or open position, comprising a body portion having end sections in which are positioned parallel sided notches, the sides of said notches being slanted at an angle tothe vertical, and a fiat cover portion having partially cylindrical knuckles along at least one edge thereof, the knucldes being flush with one surface of the cover, portions of the surface of the cover being in contact with one side of each of said notches and said knuckles being positioned in the bottom of said notches when said cover is in open position and held therein by said knuckles and notches, said knuckles being removable from said notches and said cover being removable from said body portion when said cover is in said open position, said cover also being removable from said body portion and said knuckles from said notches when said cover is in closed position, said knuckles spanning th opening to said notches when said cover is in closed position.

7. A hinged article in accordance with claim 6, in which a similar pair of notches is positioned at each edge of said article and similar knuckles are provided at corresponding edges of said cover to permit said cover to be opened and held in a plurality of positions.

MICHAEL H. MORRISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 645,609 Schellenback Mar. 20, 1900 2,011,675 Cawood Aug. 20, 1935 2,371,19e Socke et a1 Mar. 13, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 868,844 France Oct. 20, 1941 

